Scotch Tape and Rubber Bands
by agrove
Summary: A new case, one that hits particularly close to home, may be Lucifer's undoing as it forces a painful past into the open. With Chloe searching for the truth and Maze doing everything to hide it the question will finally be answered; just how human is the Devil? Takes place after 1x03.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I got this idea while rewatching Lucifer and it wouldn't leave me alone. This one will be shorter than _Better the Devil You Know_ but should end up being pretty substantial if I can get my thoughts down on paper. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!

* * *

"Ok _Beelzebub_ ," Chloe laughed, her hand wrapped around a cool bottle of beer. "I'll play, why did you 'fall from heaven'?"

Lucifer shot her a flat look from the barstool next to her in Lux, taking a sip of his scotch before answering. "If you're going to start using pet names I much prefer Old Scratch."

"Sorry," she snorted, the detective in an uncharacteristically good mood after solving their recent case. "Old Scr- No. I can not call you that with a straight face. _Lucifer_ , why did you 'fall'?" She took another sip and lifted her arm to the counter, her hand cradling her cheek as she waited for his answer.

"I can hear the quotation marks your insinuating," he began before shrugging and finishing his drink in one long swallow. "It's simple really, I didn't want to be told what to do anymore. I wanted to be the one bossing others about."

Chloe nodded in understanding as she finished her beer. "So you wanted to be in control. Basically you're a control freak."

"No!" he denied, his amusement growing the longer he stared at her. "I felt I could be a better leader, rule with a firmer hand and the bastard threw me out because of it. I was showing initiative!" he cried, pleading his case.

The blonde detective hid her smile behind her hand and smothered it with a cough, this man was ridiculous. Did he honestly believe all the nonsense he spewed or was he just this committed to jerking her chain? "The same thing could be said for Hitler."

He threw up his hands and pursed his lips, "Oh now you're just being rude."

Chloe threw her head back and laughed, her hand clutching his forearm involuntarily. The man had a way that was so obnoxious in one moment, and totally hilarious in the next. He actually looked offended at her comment but it quickly dissolved into an easy chuckle at her enjoyment of the conversation. The two were enjoying themselves, smiles adorning both their faces as they chatted, small touches and innocent flirtations filling the lulls in conversation, both blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes watching them.

An arm suddenly slid across Lucifer's shoulders and a body pressed against him in an oddly protective manner, the man not seeming surprised in the slightest. "Someone wants to talk to you by the entrance," Maze explained, her body relaxed and expression sincere, completely ignoring the other woman.

"No rest for the wicked, Maze keep the detective company," he ordered before disappearing into the crowd, smiling salaciously at a passing blonde and winking at a brunette.

The moment he disappeared Maze's expression transformed into something darker, her eyes narrowing and her smirk melting into a sneer. "Stay away from him."

Taken back at her tone and words Chloe jerked back and scoffed. "What? I mean I know you don't like me but its not like we're having sex. Plus I'm sure you two have some weird role play thing going on anyway."

Maze bent down so they were face to face, their noses almost touching. "I wouldn't care if it was just sex but he's drawn to you. He _likes_ you and I'm telling you this right now, this will end badly."

"I'm not attracted to him so no need to worry," she bit out sarcastically, forcing herself to not react. Everything in her was screaming to push back but she refrained. "We only work together, is he not supposed to have friends?"

"I hope you're a better detective than a lair," Maze spat before pulling back with a glare. "Heed my words Decker."

Confused and more than a little uncomfortable at the change in atmosphere the detective grabbed her keys and turned to leave, only to find herself mere inches away from the man they had been discussing. He looked at the metal in her hand and disappointment flashed in his eyes, his eyebrows lifting in a wounded fashion. "Leaving so soon Detective?"

"It's late," she offered, noticing for the first time just how long and dark his lashes were. "I still need to get home to Trix."

"Ah yes, the offspring." He seemed to easily accept the answer, which was mostly true, and his stormy expression cleared. "Well then I suppose you'll be in touch, after all you can't solve crime without me apparently."

Chloe rolled her eyes but her small smile dimmed its effects. "You're right, I'm completely incompetent when not in your care."

"Don't be hard on yourself, it's only at work," he grinned. "I could fix that though."

She walked past him, ignoring the comment and moved towards the exit but spun at the last moment. "Are you and Maze together?"

"Sexually you mean?" he clarified, no shame present in his tone or face. "No, our relationship is more of a familial nature." Curiously he asked, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she said distractedly before turning and leaving.

* * *

"We got a case."

Lucifer rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed, the dark sheets pooled on his lap as he held the phone to his ear squinting against the rising sun peeking through his windows. "Yes good morning to you too," he rumbled, his voice thick with sleep. He could practically hear the eye roll through the phone.

Chloe suppressed a shiver at the sound of his scratchy and unused voice and cleared her throat. "So sorry. Good morning Lucifer, how are you today? Would you like to join me in solving a homicide?"

He grinned; she was such a little firecracker and so adorably sarcastic. It was easy to get her riled up. "Now, was that so hard?"

"I'm hanging up now."

"Pick me up in twenty," he instructed before mulling it over. "Actually let's do thirty, you being polite isn't the only thing hard this morning."

"You're so gross. I'll be there in fifteen."

Exactly fifteen minutes later Chloe pulled up and honked, startling the man leaning against the building holding a cigarette only a few feet away. He wanted to aggravate her further but had a strong suspicion he would be left at the curb if he did so.

He tossed down the stick from between his fingers and slid in to the car, fixing his jacket as not to wrinkle it. "You're quite testy today, any particular reason?"

"No," she answered flatly. There was a reason though and it was sitting right next to her drumming its fingers on its knees in blissful ignorance. Last nights conversation with Maze had kept her up all night, tossing and turning. She didn't think she was actually attracted to Lucifer but once the idea was in her head she couldn't seem to get it out. He drove her crazy, was so obnoxious she wanted to punch him at least once daily, and was the worst womanizer she had ever met. He was inappropriate at the most inopportune times and had absolutely no filter. For some reason though, she kept going back to him, calling him, drinking with him.

"I have a way that's guaranteed to make you smile but I feel you're not going to like it so I won't offer. Instead, what's the case?"

This she could talk about. Safe ground. "A man was found dead in an apartment near downtown. No wallet, no identifying information, and the man who owns the apartment has never seen him before. They're running prints right now."

Lucifer nodded attentively, "Sounds boring."

She wanted to chide him for being so crass but why bother, he was just going to do it anyway. "Well I'm sure you can find something to entertain you, maybe next time I'll bring coloring books."

"Speaking of childish things how is the offspring? Has she learned any new tricks?" he asked nicely, as if this was a normal way to ask about someone's child.

Chloe really wanted to hit him today. "No Lucifer, she hasn't learned any new tricks because she's a person and not a dog. Unlike you."

"Would you like to see me beg?" he smirked.

Seeing the crime scene ahead Chloe slammed on the breaks, taking satisfaction in the way he barely caught himself before smashing into the windshield. Not waiting for him to recover she jumped from the car and quickly walked to the apartment entrance, ducking down a hallway and approaching the door to the murder scene. Lucifer of course was mere inches behind her, damn his long legs.

Lucifer looked down at the murdered man with a detached expression, his eyes scanning for any clue as to how he ended up here. "Doesn't look like he could afford living here, poor chap's worn through the soles of his shoes."

"You're right," she agreed and looked over to the medical examiner. "Found any tattoos or marking that we can use to help identify him?"

The man shook his head, "Nothing. I can tell you cause of death was a knife straight to the heart. Long, thin blade. I don't have a length yet." He reached behind him for a baggie and handed it over, "Here's what he had on him."

Lucifer peered over her shoulder when she slipped on gloves and emptied the bag to look at the contents. Her fingers gently sifted though miscellaneous items before pausing and staring at the heavens for strength. "Lucifer," she ground out. 'Could you _please_ stop breathing down my neck? I can smell the liquor and nicotine you had for breakfast."

"Well then stop hogging the evidence!" he argued, stepping back only a hair. "There, what's that?" he asked, reaching around her to point at a small silver item.

She plucked the object he was pointing to out of the rest and held it up, "Looks like some sort of religious medal."

"St. Dymphna," Lucifer offered immediately, still standing unprofessionally close. "Patron saint of victims of incest, psychiatrists, and the mentally ill."

Chloe's brow furrowed, "And how do you know that?" At his raised eyebrows and expectant expression she sighed. "Right, you're the devil."

He thrust his hands into his pockets and smiled, "Exactly. So based off his less than tidy appearance we can assume he's not a doctor, and I'm no expert on humans but I wouldn't suspect that a victim of incest would want to carry around something reminding them of it on a daily basis. So- cuckoo it is."

"That," she started skeptically before quieting. "-actually makes sense. So now we need to see what nest our cuckoo flew away from."

* * *

"Maze," Lucifer barked into the empty club and waited impatiently for her to emerge from the shadows. She slithered out smoothly and crossed her arms waiting for him to continue. "Did you say something to the Detective the other night?"

Her lip curled and eyes narrowed, her good mood vanishing. "Why?"

"She asked me the nature of our relationship."

"So?" she asked in exasperation, walking behind the bar and pouring them both a drink.

"So," he mimicked, grabbing the offered drink. "The question came after you called me away to speak to a non-existent person. I'm not stupid Maze and I don't much like being treated like it."

The demon shrugged and took a gulp of the burning liquid, "We had a girl-to-girl chat. Nothing to worry about." When he didn't look convinced she walked around to him and grabbed him around the waist, looking up with a way too innocent expression. "I have a gift for you."

Despite his reservations his eyes brightened, boyish excitement covering his handsome face as he hurriedly finished his drink. "Go on."

"It's upstairs," she smirked and released him.

He happily set down his glass and trotted half way up the stairs before pausing, spinning around with a massive grin, "Does this gift involve sins of the flesh?"

She licked her lips. "Always."

As soon as he entered the elevator Maze let out a frustrated growl, gulping down the rest of her bourbon and throwing the glass down on the floor, glass shards flying everywhere. Everything had been going perfectly, Lucifer was living the high life, not forming any sort of attachments and Maze made sure that he never had to deal with anything that wasn't easy and pleasure filled. His life was a constant party, everything he could ever want at his fingertips, everybody he could ever want kneeling before him, which he deserved after-

She shook her head, _not going there._

There was no way in hell she was going to allow Chloe Decker to destroy what they had built. The woman was too intelligent, to cunning, and constantly searched for the truth in everything. Why couldn't he have latched onto some dumb hooker who only wanted him for his money? How did he manage, with his total lack of finesse, to catch the eye of someone who actually liked him for his personality?

She stared unseeingly at the elevator he had entered, her mind wandering. The sad thing was that he deserved someone like Chloe, someone honest and kind, someone that could keep up with his overbearing personality, someone that could hold him at night and keep up with his exuberance during the day. But that could never happen. People were naturally curious and eventually something would slip, an offhand comment, a photograph she had forgotten to burn, _something_ and when it did, it would bring down his entire world.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting! Next chapter will really get the ball rolling.

* * *

"Lucifer?" Chloe called out into the massive loft, hesitantly entering from the lift.

"Wow." She knew he lived lavishly but this was unbelievable. Marble everywhere and a full bar, a piano and floor to ceiling windows. A two story library laid to her left and what seemed to be a bedroom, sauna, and who knows what else to the right. Everything was gleaming, worldly artifacts covering the walls

"Lucifer?" she called out again, walking further into the space but feeling uncomfortable at wandering about uninvited. She was just about to give up when the man in question appeared in nothing but a towel slung low on his narrow hips.

"Detective!" he smiled, surprise evident on his face. "How nice of you to drop by, here for a little morning delight?"

She shook her head, "You just don't quit do you?"

"Where would I be if I did? Nowhere fun," he scoffed and poured himself a drink, flinging a red bra out of the way and into the hall before taking a sip. "So if not for the pleasure of my company why are you here?" he asked curiously.

Chloe walked to the bar, opposite the man currently drinking at nine a.m, and rested her arms on it. "We got a hit from the prints, I'm going to go check out his last known address and get in touch with next of kin. I figured you'd want to go."

He gulped down what was left in his glass and set the tumbler down next to the half empty bottle. "You figured right, give me two shakes and we can be off."

The detective eyed the bottle on the counter cynically. He seemed to drink a lot, at all times of the day but never seemed too intoxicated. From what she could tell he was a fully functional alcoholic with an amazingly high tolerance for liquor. Had he always drank like this or did something cause it? Figuring it wasn't her business she averted her gaze from the glass bottle and watched him begin to walk away.

"Oh my God."

Lucifer half turned, his brows drawn together in confusion. "What?"

There, on his back, were two massive scars, reaching from the top of his shoulder blades to almost the middle of his back. The scars were old, and fully healed but whatever had happened must have been terrible to produce such angry looking markings on either side of his spine. "What happened?" she whispered as she slowly approached him.

"A gift from my father that I decided I didn't want anymore," he explained, his voice too even to be considered normal. No, there were deep emotions buried here.

"Your dad did this?" she asked in horror, unable to take her eyes off the thick white and pink marks.

"No, Maze did when I told her to cut my wings off."

Chloe's lifted her hand to touch the angry skin, wanting to somehow take away the phantom pain. Her fingertips were only a hair away when Lucifer spun and captured her wrist, his eyes showing something she had never seen before in the black depths. Fear. "Don't, please," he commanded shakily. She nodded slowly, retreating a short distance away.

Suddenly uncomfortable Lucifer forced a tight smile, "I best get dressed, don't want to keep a dead man waiting." Not waiting for a response he hurried to his bedroom to change and gather himself and when he reappeared it was as if nothing had happened.

Situated in the car a few minutes later Lucifer grabbed the file stuck between the seats and flipped it open. "Gerald Smith. I thought he looked more like a Stephen."

Chloe flipped on her blinker and waited in the turn lane. "Last known address is over a year old but we'll stop by and see what we can get from neighbors or his old place. We also have to visit his sister and let her know."

"How do you do it?" Lucifer suddenly asked.

She turned for a second to look at him. "Do what?"

He held up the file, "Inform people that their relatives are dead. Isn't that emotionally taxing for you?"

"Well yeah," she answered slowly surprised at the concern in his voice. "But it's part of the job, someone's got to do it."

Lucifer seemed to accept her answer. "Can I accompany you when you visit the sister?"

"Lucifer, I don't think-"

"I'll be on my best behavior," he added. "I may not understand the entire spectrum of human emotion but I'm not going to traumatize someone who just lost their brother." Seeing he was wearing her down he threw a word he didn't use often. "Please?"

Chloe's eyebrows shot up at his sincerity, before finally agreeing. "Don't make me regret it."

"My dear, you could never regret anything that involves me."

Pulling up to the curb she killed the engine and both looked through the windshield at the three-story slum before them. Paint was peeling off the graffiti covered exterior, trash was thrown everywhere, the roof was missing numerous shingles, and more than a few windows were broken. "Come on," Chloe ordered and stepped out to find apartment number 13B.

The duo entered the building through a security door that was missing a lock and looked for a stairwell to reach the second floor. Lucifer found it first and grimaced at the stench and numerous paraphernalia littering the concrete. "Perhaps I should have waited in the car."

"Don't be a baby," she chided. "Come on, it's got to be up here."

Begrudgingly he followed her up, making sure not to touch anything, and glanced down the hallway. "Well at least the hallways a bit tidier," he mumbled under his breath.

"Here," Chloe called and knocked on the door with a worn '13' on it. The sound of movement inside alerted her to its residents but no move was made to answer the door. "LAPD open up," she shouted through the wood and knocked again.

"We tried, gold star and all. Let's go," Lucifer smiled sarcastically and turned to return to the car when the door opened just a sliver.

"What do you want?"

Chloe held up a picture of their victim, "He used to live here, you know him?"

The door slammed closed before reopening, this time more than before to reveal a thick woman with mousy brown hair and an apparent addiction to eyeliner. "Gerry, yeah I know him. I'm guessing he ain't still alive if you're here, or you sent him back."

"Back where?" Lucifer interjected curiously.

The woman, having just noticed him, smiled flirtatiously and positioned her arms to lift her breasts. "Hey handsome, I'm Bernice."

"Lucifer, charmed," he replied with a small grin, slipping around Chloe who rolled her eyes. "Now tell me Berni, where did our dear friend Gerald get off to?"

"Mental institute, Sunny somethin' or other. Guy was crazier that a two-peckered billy goat but there wasn't a mean bone in his body," she answered, her eyes roaming over the man in front of her.

"Two-peckered billy goat?" Lucifer repeated in confusion under his breath.

Chloe used the opportunity to insert herself back into the conversation, "Thank you Bernice, if we need anything else we'll be in touch."

Lucifer's hands were stuck in his pockets and he offered a semi-polite smile to the woman that quickly transformed to unease when she grabbed him arm. "You need anything else you call me. I'll climb you like a lumberjack."

"Thank you for that uh- colorful offer," he coughed, trying to back away with an uncomfortable smile.

Closing her eyes to dispel the visual the detective backed away, tugging Lucifer free from the woman's grip. "Thanks for your time."

Once outside and in the car the Devil sucked in a deep breath, "Oh thank heavens, air. Have these people never heard of bathing? Or any form of personal hygiene? I feel like I need to bathe in antiseptic. I mean I've partook in some questionable acts before but even I have a limit."

"Oh come on, I thought the missing teeth were sexy," the blonde grinned. "So Sunny something Institute. It's our best lead so far but it doesn't sound familiar." Looking at the clock she shook her head. "It's too late to check anything out today, we'll go tomorrow morning and see what we can figure out."

Lucifer slouched in his seat, "So what now? A visit to his kin?"

"Yeah."

The ride was quiet for a few miles, Lucifer enjoying having the windows down with his new appreciation for clean oxygen and Chloe deep in thought over this morning. She couldn't stop picturing his scars, couldn't stop thinking about every horrible thing that could have happened. Had be been tortured? Abused? Had it been a terrible accident? Of course there was the explanation he had given but it's not like that could be true.

She cast a sideways glance at the man in her passenger seat; she really didn't know anything about him. He claimed he was the devil and never seemed to slip up and reveal anything that would indicate otherwise. She honestly had no idea about his family, his past, his favorite food, first car, his anything really. It was alarming how little she knew about him, yet she trusted him explicitly.

The weirdest thing was that the man didn't seem to exist before five years ago so for any information she would have to collect it or deduce it on her own. His license seemed normal enough and she was surprised to find he was actually two years younger than her, only thirty-two, and already a millionaire according to his suspiciously clean financial records. Drug lord? Not probable but still an option. Perhaps old money, but then where were his parents? Or was he just that smooth of a businessman, people seemed to be drawn to him. Conman? Also was the fact he was very intelligent so he definitely had a good education, perhaps even some college. Based off his accent he wasn't born in America, or moved here later in his life and then there was of course the biggest clue. Maze.

Where did she fit into everything? Lucifer had said they were like family and Maze had 'followed him through the gates of Hell' but what did that mean? She seemed to be fiercely protective of him even though he was a perfectly able adult male. How long ago had they met, did she know anything about him?

"As fascinating at this view is I'd rather not stare at it all day."

Snapping out of her musings Chloe realized she had been sitting on a side street facing a pile of trash for a while now. "Right, sorry. I was just thinking about something," she apologized and turned again to enter the apartment complex.

"Yes well don't," he snapped without any real bite. "I'm immortal but a car accident would still hurt like hell. What's got your knickers so twisted?"

"Nothing, I just- Wait, knickers? Really?" she laughed.

* * *

"Gerald's dead?" Sophia Martin, Gerald's sister, whispered sadly from her seat in the middle of her lavender couch.

"We're very sorry for your loss," Chloe offered solemnly from the love seat, trying to ignore the fact that it was so small she and Lucifer were smashed together. It was proving hard to focus when she could feel the heat of his skin through his jacket and smell a hint of cologne from his lightly tanned skin. Then on top of it he kept shifting against her and if his tiny smirk was any indication he knew exactly the effect it was causing. Bastard.

"Hang on," Lucifer interrupted, suddenly leaning forward. "You don't sound too surprised or bothered by this."

The woman shook her head, "I'm not. We haven't really been in touch these last few years and even before it's always been on and off. Gerald always had a hard time staying focused."

"Because of the whole off his rocker, mad as a hatter thing?" Lucifer butted in, making a circular gesture around his ear with his index finger while ignoring a scathing glare from his partner.

"Yes," she answered, wiping away a few tears. "He was in and out of Sunny Hill for the last ten years." Randomly she added, "I'm sorry but have we met before?"

Lucifer's eyebrows shot up as he placed a hand on his chest, "Me? I don't believe so."

"I could swear I've seen you somewhere before, maybe with shorter hair," she rambled, her focused gaze making the devil squirm uncomfortably. "The height and the accent seem so familiar and those dark, dark eyes. Horribly haunted eyes."

Lucifer's eyes slid to Chloe and he minutely shrugged at her inquisitive look. In a harder than expected tone he bit out, "I don't know who you are, we have not met."

"I'm sorry," the woman said softly, rubbing her hand over her forehead. "My mistake."

Detective Decker's eyes flickered between the pair and the strange interaction before she cleared her throat to gain the woman's attention and get them back on track. "Why was Gerald institutionalized? Can you think of anyone that would want to harm him?"

"No, he was harmless. He was kidnapped as a child when he was nine and held for over a month, he never got over it," she sniffed. "The home though, they had people from all walks of life. Gerald was getting help there but every couple years he would call and ask me to get him out and I always did, he was family. Things would deteriorate and I'd have to check him back in." The woman dabbed her eyes with a tissue again. "When I couldn't bring him back he just disappeared one day and never came back."

"Why couldn't you bring him back?" Chloe questioned.

"The east wing burned down around five years ago, they just ended up closing the entire thing." With a heavy sigh and a watery smile she added, "I suppose this is for the best though, he's finally at rest. 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life, John 3:16.'"

Lucifer pursed his lips and stood abruptly. "Really, his only son? Is this the same man that said if you cross him he'll make you eat your offspring?" he angrily spat before storming outside.

"Again, very sorry for your loss," Chloe hurriedly offered before beginning to move towards the door. "Sorry ma'am but where were you Monday between three and seven am?"

"Sleeping of course."

Once outside she walked to the car where Lucifer was already waiting. She knew God was a touchy subject for him. "Well you did better than I expected."

"I'm not quite sure if that's an insult or a compliment."

Once again the pair found themselves in the car, the sun beginning to set on the horizon casting long shadows across the streets. "I'm going to drop you off before going back to the station, Trixie's cooking dinner tonight. Unless you want to join us."

Lucifer looked at her like she was mad. "The child can't even fetch yet you're giving her free rein of the kitchen appliances? This isn't some sort of assassination attempt is it? I know you've been a bit perturbed with me as of late but I don't think it warrants death."

"Human Lucifer, not a dog remember? I help Trix cook, she picks the recipe and we make it together," she explained before laughing. "And I'm not trying to kill you, you do a good enough job at that by yourself."

The Devil smirked as they pulled up to the curb and moved to exit the vehicle but halted when the detective called his name. He turned with expectant eyes and waited for her to say whatever she was going to.

"Thanks for going with me today to the sister's house. It was nice having someone else there. You're so crass and obnoxious and don't listen to orders and-"

"I believe you've made your point," he interjected flatly.

The woman sighed, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like you being by my side. You're a pretty good partner and I know you've got my back."

Lucifer cocked his head to one side, his expression serious for once. He leaned towards her before responding, black eyes boring into green. "I could also have your front."

Expectedly he was shoved from the car and a groan of frustration erupted from the driver. "Get out, I don't even know why I try."

The Devil grinned and closed the door, leaning in at the last second. "See you tomorrow?"

She wanted to glare at him, she really did but she just couldn't muster it. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Lucifer."

"Or maybe tonight?"

"Leaving now."

* * *

"You just got back, where are you going now?" Maze questioned from her seat on the leather couch in his flat, the moon visible through the large glass walls.

Lucifer fixed his cufflinks and grabbed his jacket, "Out for a bit, I might swing by the Decker household."

"You're spending a lot of time together lately," she commented offhand. "You were gone before I even got here this morning."

His eyes narrowed, "I can go as I please Mazikeen and the company I choose to keep is no concern of yours. You were created to protect me, not mother me."

The demon ground her teeth and smiled tightly, "Of course. Can I at least ask how your day was?"

"Detective Decker and I went to a disgustingly under kept apartment building, then to a woman's house to inform her that her brother was dead," he answered shortly. "Curious thing though, she could have sworn she knew me. Told me my stature and use of the Queen's English were familiar."

Pouring himself a drink he failed to notice the color that drained from Maze's face, the way her hands began to tremble. "Something about short hair and dark eyes. It was all very strange." He quickly finished his drink and grabbed his keys. "Don't wait up."

What were the odds? What were the outrageous odds that this was happening? Chloe Decker was the one causing all the issues. She had been on damage control since Lucifer met the detective, trying to fix all the little hiccups that kept arising because of that woman. Dr. Martin was the worst one, thank God she had nipped that in the bud and spoken to the woman before Lucifer could start seeing her as a patient. The last thing he needed was someone poking around in his head.

"Lucifer," Maze called carefully, walking around the bar. "You're taking this cop thing way too seriously. You're here for a vacation from Hell, why not spend your time enjoying yourself? We could go to the beach tonight or, or Vegas. We haven't done Vegas yet."

"What's wrong?" he asked instantly. "What are you trying to distract me from?"

Being with this man was exhausting; some days he was frighteningly intelligent while on others he was poking every bear in sight with a short stick. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

The Devil laughed and threw his arm over her shoulders, "Oh Mazie, I'm immortal! I'll be fine."

"I wasn't just talking about you mortality," she whispered as she watched him leave and couldn't remember the last time she felt so helpless. Actually, she could. That day would be burned into her mind for all of time, the day she watched them drag him away, the day he had to-

Blood. There had been so much blood. She could still smell it, the stench of death and pain. It had stained the pure white floor. The walls.

Sucking in a deep breath she forced the memories down and screamed into the empty space trying to let out her frustrations. She had done everything she could to protect him and it had worked for so long but the past has a way of catching up, no matter how far you run.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and I'd like to especially thank those that reviewed. It's seriously my lifeblood.

* * *

Chloe waited patiently for the elevator doors to open, staring at her distorted reflection before it split down the middle revealing the bullpen. It was always so noisy and hectic and she involuntarily glared at the enclosed offices, especially the one belonging to her recently separated husband. If it hadn't been for Palmetto she would have had that quite sanctuary with the view, instead she was stuck out here with-

"Lucifer?"

The man, currently sitting in her chair with his feet propped up on her desk, looked up with wide eyes from a file he was flipping through. "Detective!" he exclaimed excitedly, his face splitting into a wide smile.

He looked so happy to see her, so absolutely delighted that she couldn't help but return it. This man, always dressed to the nines and surrounded by the most beautiful people in the world, was here at seven am staring at her like she had hung the moon. She knew she was falling for him, but what scared her the most was that it wasn't just some superficial thing, she was developing real feelings for him which was bad for numerous reasons. Trixie, separating from Dan only recently, the fact he was a delusional alcoholic that endangered her life and job daily.

Throwing down her bag she crossed her arms, "What are you doing here?"

"We've talked about this," he chided, his hands joining and his fingers steepling like some sort of super villain.

She kicked him softly in the leg and ignored his cry of indignation and pain. "You don't get a good morning until I've had my coffee and my seat back."

"Demanding," he grinned. "I like it." He gracefully stood and held the chair for her, a smug look on his face.

Knowing arguing would only encourage him she dropped into the chair and blurted out a surprised, "Thank you," when a coffee was placed next to her keyboard. Taking a sip of the warm brew she sighed in contentment before placing it down. "Why are you here?"

"We really must work on your manners at some point," he tutted. "And I'm here so we can find this Sunny Hill place and catch the killer. Did you not sleep well last night, or forget some sort of medication? You're awfully slow today."

Gritting her teeth and blowing out a breath she turned on her computer and tried to focus on anything but the man looming over her. Comments like that made her want to cause physical harm to who ever said them, but not Lucifer. It was almost like he didn't know any better, like he had been born with out a filter, saying anything he wanted no matter the subject or audience.

Opening the browser and typing in the name of the institution kept her busy and after a few minutes she realized she hadn't heard another peep from her partner. Curiously she turned around and snorted in disbelief at him leaning against a far desk toying with a badge that was attached to the chest of a petite female beat cop. The man was unbelievable; he literally couldn't go five minutes without making a sexual comment or flirting with anyone in the vicinity. It was like a 'Dear Penthouse' letter somehow came to life and paraded around as Satan.

"Lucifer!"

The man whipped around looking at least slightly chastised and returned back to her side. "It got boring," was the only explanation he offered and for anyone else that wouldn't have worked but for him, this was a valid reason.

"Police work isn't all shoot outs and chasing bad guys Lucifer, there's paper work and meetings and you're not listening, are you?"

He nodded as if he were and leaned down to peer over her shoulder at the screen, his hands clasping the back of the chair. "Yes, yes, boring, boring. You found it, and it's not too far away."

He had to do this on purpose, he had to. It was like he was testing his boundaries with her, getting as close as possible without actually touching and finding every excuse to be near her. She tried to breathe through her mouth but then it just sounded like she was congested so she inhaled through her nose and was once again assaulted by the smell of Lucifer. His cologne was always light and sweet and he always had just a hint of cigarettes and liquor, and on most days sex, clinging to him. Alone each scent would have disgusted her, cologne aside, but mixed together on a 6'3" lean frame with the face of an angel it made her head swim.

"Are you sure you'll alright? Perhaps I should drive today, you're awfully distracted," Lucifer remarked, finally standing up. "Actually I am driving, the Institute is three hours away and I'd prefer not to crawl there at your turtle speed."

Chloe snapped out of her thoughts and spun, "No you're not driving, I've seen you drive."

"Do you even know where we're going?" he questioned, humor gone from his voice for once. When she didn't respond he held out his hand, palm up. "Give me the keys, something's bothering you and I don't feel much like informing your offspring of your untimely demise."

This was bad. She needed to get away from him, get some air and bury all her emotions. A rebound, that's what this was, just a rebound. Feeling vulnerable after separating from her husband made her latch onto the closest male who just happened to be Lucifer. All she needed to do was get through the divorce and her feelings for him would fade or just sleep with him and move on. "No lights or sirens."

"It's like a wet-banket and a convalescent home had sex and you're the result."

* * *

Chloe stared aimlessly out the passenger window at the passing scenery, choosing not to comment on Lucifer's total disregard for posted speed limits. He was actually proving to be a good travel buddy; not listening to irritating music, holding light conversation without talking the entire time, and mostly keeping his eyes on the road. They were just finishing their second hour into the trip when Chloe lolled her head to face him, her eyes taking in his profile and relaxed features.

What was it about him that drew her to him? He claimed it was carnal fascination with women and men alike but that it didn't work on her and she had to agree. She didn't want to jump his bones, it wasn't love at first sight, and he was mostly just irritating, condescending, and rude. Then something changed and she wasn't sure if it was him or her.

If you could manage to look under the brass exterior, which took a lot of doing, you could appreciate the fact he was honest to a fault. That he had an almost child like ignorance about most things. That he was learning, which in itself was amazing. Most men seemed to be set in their ways the older the got but Lucifer was actually using his experiences and applying them to everyday life.

"Like staring into the sun isn't it?" he remarked cheekily, pulling her from her thoughts.

Chloe groaned, "If you mean it's like staring at a ball of hot air that likes to think it's the center of the universe then yes."

"You say it like it's not true," he smirked as he turned off the main road and pointed ahead. "Very 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'."

The pair peered through the windshield at the massive building in front of them as Lucifer drove past a decrepit sign that at one time most likely read _Sunny Hill Institute._ Pulling up at the entrance and putting it in park both excited and took in the poor shape of the building. At one time it was most likely a beautiful place with large green lawns and numerous windows adorning the elegant exterior, but now it was dark and dull, everything that was once living long dead.

The detective and Lucifer approached the front steps where a woman was waiting for them clutching a keychain and a folder. "Detective Decker I presume?" she said in way of greeting. "Here are the keys to all the offices and the universal room key and any information I could gather about the patient you asked about. Most of the records were removed from the building and destroyed when it closed but there's a good chance that some are still inside." Suddenly noticing the other person standing off to the side and staring up at the entrance she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and plastered on a smile before approaching him.

Lucifer looked down from the building when someone cleared their throat beside him and grinned at the look of infatuation on the woman's face. "Lucifer Morningstar, pleasure to meet you Ms.-"

"Sandra Smith, but you can call me Sandy," she whispered seductively, running her hands over the lapels of his jacket. "So you're a detective too?"

"Me? Oh no, I'm the Devil," he smirked.

The woman let out a half moan half giggle, "I bet you do all sorts of naughty things, don't you?"

He chuckled darkly, leaning over to twirl a piece of her hair around his finger. "You have no idea."

"Ok Romeo," Chloe sighed, grabbing onto his sleeve and tugging him away. "That's enough of that. We have a case to solve."

"Sorry love, duty calls," he called to the woman who waved longingly.

Once inside the detective released him and looked around, "We'll start in the offices and see what we can find and then fan out if needed."

"Um, detective," Lucifer called from behind her, his eyes roaming over the papers they had just received. "I take it you haven't read this. It seems our little looney resided in the east wing."

She sighed, of course he did. "Well, if we need to we can head over there and see what we can find, maybe everything didn't get destroyed."

It took four tries but eventually Chloe was able to find the key to the main office. Unfortunately it was mostly bare but there were a few filing cabinets and some random things strung about. Getting straight to work she opened the first cabinet, then the second, and the third all to no avail. She was halfway through the fourth one when she finally found something that even warranted a closer look. Grabbing everything out she dropped it down on a table and with a weary sigh began flipping through every single page looking for anything related to Gerald.

When she was done with the pile she grabbed the next out of the filing cabinet's bottom drawer and was about to continue searching when she noticed something. It was unusually quiet. "Lucifer?" she called out, her voice echoing but there was no response. Figuring since he was a grown man he was fine she continued flipping through the papers but there was still nothing.

"We have to go in the east wing," she muttered to herself.

Walking out of the office she rounded the corner and began heading that way only to barely withhold a scream when Lucifer nonchalantly walked out of a side room holding a straight jacket. "Jesus Lucifer! Where were you?"

"Exploring," he answered excitedly. "How many chances does one have to roam around an abandoned mental hospital? It's like a real life horror movie."

"And the straight jacket?" As soon as his grin began to grow she held up a hand, "Never mind, I don't want to know."

He tossed it aside with a chuckle and approached the detective, "I take it the offices were a bust. Which leaves the east wing!"

"Yes, very exciting," she mocked sarcastically, continuing in the direction she had been headed, Lucifer falling into step next to her. "If you think you can focus on why we're here we can split up and cover more ground."

His displeasure was obvious at the suggestion but he still replied, "If you insist," and lit a cigarette before disappearing into a dark side room.

Chloe watched him was away and shivered involuntarily. This place was beyond creepy and she had no idea how Lucifer wasn't even a little perturbed. Wheelchairs and hospital beds littered the hallways, numerous windows were covered with boards and some rooms even still contained personal artifacts from past patients. She wasn't one to play into the whole ghost mumbo jumbo but it was difficult to not let it get to you a little.

Room by room she entered looking for anything useful, finding nothing and knew she was getting closer to the charred section, which wouldn't be safe enough to investigate. Her hand clasped the last knob and turned, praying there would be something in here to give them a lead. "Finally," she whispered when her eyes landed upon boxes of papers, framed pictures leaning against each other on the far wall.

Thankfully the window wasn't boarded so light was able to stream in through the west-facing window allowing her to relax a little. Seeing no desk or chairs she peeled off her light jacket and tossed it down, sitting on it a moment later and getting to work.

Lucifer wandered aimlessly halfway looking for anything related to Gerry but mostly just enjoying the place. Snuffing out his smoke he began to whistle happily as he moved things around on the floor with his foot and looked in closets and drawers. Getting bored again he walked across the hall and saw that this is where the damage started, half the room had caved in and the walls were painted black with soot. It was quite a sight but it wasn't the damage that peaked his interest, it was the old, soot and debris covered piano sitting in the far corner of the room looking surprisingly intact. Yes this would do.

Chloe rubbed her eyes tiredly and for the umpteenth time that day wondered where Lucifer was. "Some partner," she grumbled unhappily. It was beginning to get late and she still had two boxes to go through and all the pictures. Just wanting to be done she grabbed the two boxes and placed them in the hallway before pulling out her phone and taking quick snaps of every picture. She was just about to call Lucifer to tell him get to the car when the faint sound of music hit her ears.

"As if this place isn't creepy enough." With quiet steps and her hand on her pistol she followed the noise and had almost pinpointed it when it suddenly stopped. Figuring it was Lucifer and knowing he had to be close she peered in every room before finally spotting him in what looked to be an old rec room.

"Come on let's go."

When he didn't respond she walked closer and saw he was staring at the burnt end of the room, his lips parted and eyes blank. His hands were resting on the keys but he no longer played, just kept staring unnervingly at the damage or something she wasn't seeing, almost hypnotized by whatever he was seeing.

"Lucifer?" Chloe tried again, this time softer and filled with apprehension.

Still nothing.

"If you're trying to scare me I'm going to shoot you," she said a little louder, before finishing her approach and standing next to him. She followed his line of sight but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Lucifer!" she finally barked and grabbed his shoulder.

Lucifer sucked in a deep breath, jerking away harshly and nearly stumbling as he tried to stand up. His eyes were wild as he continued breathing harshly, shifting over everything in the room before finally landing on the detective. "Chloe?"

He _never_ called her that and especially not in such a small confused voice. "Yeah, it's just me," she said quietly, wondering what the hell just happened.

"I-" he began before looking around one last time. "Did you find anything useful?" he finally asked in his normal tone, his usual cockiness returning and his eyes clearing and focusing.

"Not sure yet, I have a couple boxes to bring home but what just happened?"

He began to walk from the room and waited for his partner to join him. "You must be contagious," he insisted, noticing the two boxes in the hall that weren't there before. "Now you've got me doing it."

"I'm not contagious," she argued, grabbing a box and waiting for him to do the same. "But just in case it seems I'm fine now so I'll be driving back."

The Devil harrumphed and handed her the keys after fetching them from his pocket. "Perhaps I should look for supplies before we embark on our journey home seeing as there a good chance we won't return until morning."

"I don't drive that slow! I go the speed limit."

He frowned in confusion, "You mean that's not the minimal speed required?" When she whipped around he smiled cheekily, "Fine, but one tick under the limit and I'm driving."

"Uh-huh," she scoffed and climbed into the drivers seat, pulling it much further forward than in had been for the last driver. Turning onto the main road she looked over to see if Lucifer wanted to stop for anything to eat but he was fast asleep against the window, a distressed expression on his handsome face.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! Now, time for some fluff!

* * *

Chloe locked her car and grabbed her bag before heading to the elevator and eventually to her spot at the station, choosing to ignore a few snide comments from other officers. After dropping her belongings on the floor by her desk and kicking them under she retrieved a cup of coffee and seated herself in her chair, ready to start her day. This morning had been nice, traffic hadn't been too bad and everything had gone smoothly getting Trix to school. It was shaping up to be a good day, and then her phone rang.

"I told you to stay away from him," an angry voice hissed.

The detective scoffed at the absurdity of the phone call. "Do you realize I'm a police offer and that you're threatening and harassing me?"

Maze obviously didn't care because she pressed on. "If you care about him at all, if he is anything to you, you will never see him again."

Chloe wanted to bite back a rude retort but something about the other woman's tone was off. Sure it was filled with the usual anger and sneering but there was an almost desperate undertone that made her feel like she was missing something important. "You know I do, he's the best friend I've got but you need to give me _something_. What am I doing that's so wrong?"

"Everything," Maze snapped. "The best thing for Lucifer would be to screw him and never look back but it's too late for that." A sigh filled the line before she added in a much quieter voice, "He's standing at the edge of the rabbit hole and you need to decide if you're going to push him, or jump down with him."

The detectives phone beeped signaling the call had ended and she stared at the object in her hand in complete bewilderment. Was the woman just completely bat-shit crazy? The obvious answer would be yes, she thought she was a demon from Hell that accompanied the Devil himself to earth. At least Lucifer seemed like he could manage his crazy.

"Fantasizing about me again detective?"

She looked up to see him leaning on her desk, hands clasped together in front of him and an innocent smile on his face. "Maybe," she smiled, biting into her bottom lip for effect.

Lucifer's eyes darkened, his posture switching from relaxed to predatory as his smile twisted into a lecherous grin. "Does it involve a broom closet?"

Chloe looked around the station before standing and moving closer, her mouth hovering only millimeters from his ear. "I'm fantasizing about how amazing it would be-" she could practically feel the sexual tension rolling off the man and waited a beat before finishing. "If you could keep your ego in check for one single day."

"Tease. I like it," he smirked before his eyes widened and he pointed to her giddily. "Is that what's had you so topsy-turvy lately? You've been thinking about it haven't you?"

"No!" Chloe instantly denied. "What are you even talking about?"

Lucifer's smile only kept getting bigger. "You're not a very good liar are you? Oh look you're blushing! It's adorable really how flustered you are."

The detective glanced around and was thankful everyone seemed to be too focused on their own work to pay attention to this conversation. Squaring her shoulders she lifted her chin and scolded him. "This is a completely inappropriate conversation to be having here, and we're partners. Work partners, that's all."

"For now," he replied with a hint of finality. "Now, what's next for the case and don't tell me it's digging through those boxes of old papers. I'm a people person, I need to be with people. Preferably punishing or having sex."

The blonde dropped her head into her hands and suppressed a scream. "Why are you here Lucifer? I thought I told you I'd call you if I found something."

"I was actually in the area," he declared. "I have some business to attend to and decided to stop by."

Her eyes narrowed, "Like a favor for someone?"

The man stood and winked at an officer a few rows over before looking back to Chloe. "Yes exactly, I mean I can't run around playing handsome cop all the time."

"You're right, how silly of me," she ground out. "You still have your Devil business to attend to. Making deals, taking souls, running Hell."

This made Lucifer frown. "Is something bothering you? You seem very uptight."

She waited for the sexual innuendo to follow but it never came, he seemed to actually be asking her a straight question. It almost made her feel guilty for taking out her frustrations on the man. "I'm fine, really. Thank you for asking."

"Right," he said quietly, clearly not believing her but not pushing the matter.

Chloe watched him leave, his long legs carrying him quickly across the room and to the elevator, his gait cocky and self-assured. The man was so convinced he was the Devil, so absolutely buried in it, that it was hard to look at him as completely human and not play into it. No part of her believed in God and the Devil, heaven and hell but there was something about him that made her wonder if there was something to it. The man turned once inside the elevator and faced her, his hands stuck in his pockets and a smug grin on his face that only grew the longer she stared.

* * *

It was hours later the Chloe had finally sifted through the rest of the papers in the Sunny Hill boxes and thankfully she had a small stack pertaining to Gerald. Everything was mostly just medical information; mental examinations, treatments, medications, etc but there were two papers that held some interesting information. Gerald had been in an altercation on three separate occasions with the same guard and the last report said the guard had finally been terminated. Andy Fisher was the man's name and as flimsy as it was he was their only lead.

Meanwhile on the other side of town Lucifer was seated on a couch in Lux, drink in hand and onyx eyes focused on the woman dancing in front of him on the table. A smile was playing on his lips and he looked over when the someone slid in next to his right side. "Maze, why the long face? I'm sure this lovely creature here could turn that frown upside down."

The demon looked up and watched the woman for a few minutes before looking back to the man next to her. He seemed relaxed and bubbly but she had watched him from the bar all night and even though he was acting normal it seemed his focus was elsewhere. "Someone's got to keep an eye on things down here but why don't you show her just how naughty the Devil can be?"

Lucifer took a long pull from his drink and shook his head, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I don't think I want to. I mean she's beautiful, look at her, but it's just not there." He sat up straighter and worriedly grabbed Maze's arm, "Is there something wrong with me? What if it's some terrible disease that's rendering me impotent?"

Maze rolled her eyes and grabbed his drink to finish it herself, licking the liquor off her lips after setting the glass down. She knew what the problem was and it was a testament to his ignorance that he didn't. It was getting harder to pull him away from the detective, not because of how stubborn the man was, but for the fact that it seemed he wanted her more badly than he realized. The lesser evil was helping him nurse a broken heart by filling up the void with sex and liquor but she cared deeply enough for him that it was almost physically painful to hurt him. Nothing had prepared her for this and she felt stupid for not having some sort of plan or buffer for this such occasion. So the question was, did she care enough for him to allow Chloe Decker into his life?

"There's nothing wrong with you," she laughed before sobering. "It's because you-" She swallowed thickly. This was it and she wondered it she was making the right choice or damning him. "It's because you have feelings for the Decker woman."

A laugh was the unexpected response. "What are you babbling on about? She's intellectually stimulating but there's no _feelings_ I simply want to bed her, she's proven an exciting challenge."

"Have you seriously not noticed how you started only having sex with blondes? Then just women? Now not anyone? The only way it would be more obvious is if I carved her name into your chest."

Lucifer fell back onto the couch apparently deep in thought, confusion evident. "Well this complicates things quite a bit, doesn't it?"

Maze ground her teeth and laughed humorlessly, her lip curling in disgust. "You have no idea."

"Well how do I get rid of them?" He asked, wiggling his empty glass.

The demon grabbed it and disappeared to refill it before returning and resuming her seat. "The feelings?" she clarified before laughing wryly. "I have no idea."

His lips parted in nervous acceptance before he asked out of the blue, "Mazikeen, why have we never had sex? I mean we're family now, but before that?"

"Because you've always been family to me," she whispered into his ear, her fingers running through his hair, before standing and stalking into the crowd leaving Lucifer alone with his thoughts. Heading for the bar she grabbed the arm of a patron sitting on the end and drug them off to the side. "Decker."

Chloe turned and shook her head; "We're not doing this anymore. I will arrest you if you sa-"

"You can have him."

The detective could only stare at the other woman in shock and confusion. "Have him- What are you talking about?"

Maze shifted so she could see Lucifer and raised her eyebrows in his direction. "Lucifer." Seeing the blonde didn't understand she tried to give her more. "I'll stop 'harassing' you," she clarified, air quotes and all.

Chloe didn't have any idea what was happening but the open unease showing on the woman's face made her swallow a scathing reply. "Just this morning you were doing your daily threatening and now you're giving the man up like a prize. I told you we're just friends."

"Quit lying to yourself!" Maze shouted. "He deserves more than that." She laughed bitterly and crossed her arms, biting into her bottom lip and shaking her head. "You're going to destroy him no matter what but at least give him a smile on the way down."

The detective didn't comment when Maze body checked her and stayed in the corner where they had spoken wondering what was happening. Everything was so strange lately and everyone around her so insane that she almost felt like she was the crazy one. She looked over at Lucifer, sitting on one of the couches and waving his hand to dismiss the girl on the table, and wondered, was she lying to herself?

Slowly working her way to him she decided to take a page from the book of Lucifer and just not worry about it. Come what may.

"Hey."

Lucifer looked to his left and perked up a bit, "Hello hello. Come to share a break in the case?"

"Actually," she replied slowly. "I'm here for you."

His brows rose in surprise and he looked quite pleased with himself as she scooted closer. "Really? Well isn't this a nice surprise."

"Yeah, I thought we could hang out for a bit. You know, what friends do," she replied before mentally slapping herself. Twice for good measure. Maybe this whole 'thinking like Lucifer' thing was harder than it looked. Had she been out of the dating game so long that she couldn't even flirt right anymore? "I need a drink," she managed to get out.

Lucifer passed her his and met Maze's eyes before looking back to his companion. "Friends, right," he agreed.

"You don't know what friends are, do you?" Chloe asked after watching him squirm around the reply, his brow pinched in confusion. She wanted to ask if he was serious but this was Lucifer she was talking about, the man who seemed to not know anything about basic human emotions or relationships yet everything about liquor, sexual positions, and oddly enough the bible. "It's someone you enjoy being around. It's a connection, a trust you share with someone."

He listened carefully and accepted his new drink from a waitress before asking, "And that's all? Well where do the sins of the flesh fit in?"

"They don't," Chloe laughed.

"Then why would anyone want a friend? I mean I enjoy your company, I trust you, but why would anyone choose to not have sex with someone?" he questioned as if he truly did not understand the concept.

"Well," she began and took a sip of her drink. "Sometimes it's because they're already in a relationship or they're afraid it'll make things complicated."

"But it's just sex," he chuckled. "I mean how complicated can it be?"

She wasn't explaining this well. Taking a larger gulp of her drink she set it down on the table and twisted towards him. "Ok I'll use us as an example. We're friends and we're not having sex-"

"Yes I'm _painfully_ aware of that fact," he mumbled under his breath before clarity shown on his face. "Oh I get it. You won't do the deed with me because you're still married to Dan and you're afraid we couldn't be friends afterwards. That since I came and conquered, pardon the pun, I'd drop you like a prostitutes knickers."

"First off, gross. Secondly, it was just an example that does not pertain to us in any way," she scoffed.

He smirked, everything about him looking smug. "No of course not but just in case it did last I heard you had separated from the douche for a reason and that reason is still valid. As for it 'complicating' things I can assure you no one has ever held my interest as you have detective and a roll in the hay would do nothing to diminish that." Seeing she was still trying to deny it he shrugged, "But since it doesn't pertain to us I assume none of that matters."

"You are so-"

His face lit up, smile wide. "Unbelievably handsome, successful, hilarious, fantastic in the sack?"

Maybe this was a bad idea, coming here. It had been an impulsive decision, which was probably obvious considering she was still wearing what she had on at work but Lucifer didn't seem to mind. The man was dressed in a black suit with a pressed white shirt, shoes gleaming as always and looking very much like he belonged here. Moving to the edge of the seat she ran a hand through her hair and with a sour taste in her mouth turned to face him again. "Something like that. Look I should probably head home, I have an early day tomorrow."

Devastated would be the word she would use to describe his expression at that moment, with maybe a side of disbelief. "You just got here, the night is young detective!"

"Fine, I'll stay a little longer." Where had that come from? That was not what was supposed to come out of her mouth.

His face cleared in an instant, his easy smile returning and he laid his arm over the back of the couch. "Splendid." Noticing the distance between them he gently coaxed her over. "I don't bite. Unless you want me to. Kidding! Sort of."

Screw it she thought to herself, she'd deal with the fall out tomorrow. She pushed herself back onto the couch and slid up next to him, and when he crossed his legs, turning his body to face her better she noticed that for the first time since the separation she felt safe. She was a police officer, every day was filled with just a touch of apprehension and even though she was confident she could protect herself it still felt good to not have to, to have someone else worry about any dangers.

Even though they were situated in the middle of one of the hottest clubs in Los Angeles with music blaring and people swarming it still felt like they were completely alone. As time began to slip away Chloe finally fully relaxed and just enjoyed the company. They laughed and drank and Lucifer never pushed any further than what would be considered impolite, his hand had worked its way to her thigh and he was leaning into her more but that was all and she was once again hit by how much she could trust this man.

It was just past closing and only a few people remained to clean the bar before the morning. The music was still playing but at a normal level and Maze stood behind the bar wiping it down and watching the two carefully. It was almost peaceful.

Chloe felt boneless, completely relaxed curled up into Lucifer's side and was struggling to keep her eyes open. Looking up she saw he looked about the same and knew the night had to come to an end. "I need to go home," she said quietly, still not moving.

Lucifer glanced down at her. "You don't have to."

"I really do," she yawned, not sure is she was ready for anything like that yet. "But thank you for a good night, this was fun."

He smirked a little, "It was, wasn't it?"

A soft groan left Chloe's lips as she sat up, feeling cold at the loss of contact but moving anyway. She turned to look at her partner who hadn't moved, his eyes now closed and head tilting to one side slowly as he seemed to be losing the battle with consciousness. "Lucifer."

"Hmmm?" he hummed softly and blearily opened his eyes.

Choosing to simply act and not think, which had gone pretty well for her tonight once she finally managed it, she leaned back and pressed her lips to his.

Lucifer instantly responded, kissing her back with just as much pressure and feeling as she put into it. It was slow, almost lazy, filled with just enough lust to satisfy her but keep her wanting more. She moved her hand to the back of his neck to play with the short hairs and placed the other on his chest, her hand sliding under his slightly unbuttoned shirt and it was only then she realized he was trembling. She pulled back slowly and with a start realized he hadn't moved an inch, hands or otherwise. He was using so much self control to not attack her that he was physically shaking. "You can touch me," she laughed in disbelief.

The man swallowed thickly, his breathes uneven and eyes wide. "If I start I don't think I can stop."

Chloe's tongue darted out and ran over her bottom lip, Lucifer's eyes watching the entire movement before meeting her eyes again. "As much as I want you to, I really think I should go," she said apologetically and moved back leaving the Devil to clear his throat and sit up straighter.

"Just give me a minute love and I'll walk you out."

True to his word he gathered himself and stood, fixing his jacket and following her to the doors. "So going back to the friends thing," he started and chuckled when she slapped his arm.

"I know talking about work is like the biggest buzz kill ever but I found some things about Gerald and we have a new suspect, I'm going to head over there in the morning. Can you meet me at the station?"

"It would be much easier if you stayed here," he replied jokingly before sticking his hands in his pockets to control them and just staring down at her. Not being used to denying himself he dropped his head and kissed his detective one more time. "Goodnight Chloe."

Unable to hide her blush she grabbed her keys and smiled goofily, almost running into the door before pushing it open and walking out. "Bye Lucifer."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! I just finished this story up so I'll be posting the rest of the chapters every other day so I can put my sole focus on the sequel to _Better the Devil You Know._

* * *

Lucifer strode confidently into the police station from the elevator only to be accosted and shoved into a side office before he could make it even three steps in. The door slamemd shut behind him and the blinds were pulled closed, Lucifer grinning at his detective's actions. "Splendid idea Detective, I didn't know you had it in you," he chuckled before grabbing her around the waist and dropping his head to graze his lips across hers.

It was as if her body was completely disconnected from her mind, while her brain kept saying stop her body arched against his and she returned the kiss with furor. The man was like walking sex and it was only when his warm hands slid under her shirt that she popped out of his spell. "We are not having sex in here," Chloe whispered harshly as she shoved him away and gathered herself. "At work you have to behave yourself, no one can know anything."

The man arched a brow, "Well I'm afraid there's not much to tell so I'm not exactly sure what the big secret is."

She was frazzled, that was obvious, and she blew out a breath and shook her arms out to calm herself down. "About last night, I'd just really like to keep it on the down low for right now. No one needs to know what happened."

"There's something you're not telling me," he added.

Chloe nodded and pursed her lips. "You're right. Dan is back, from his sting operation."

"The Douche?" Lucifer asked before he smirked. "I get it now, you don't want people judging you for hooking up with your partner while you're still married. Fine, I'll play. I'll be your sordid little secret. After all I don't kiss and tell."

"Thank you," she sighed in relief and grabbed the handle, only to have Lucifer place a hand on it holding it shut. "What?" she hissed.

"So this means that last night wasn't some fluke then? I was sure you were going to try to ignore it or make up some ridiculous excuse."

Her lips twitched, "Not a fluke. Now come on." She pulled open the door and stepped out, walking to her desk with Lucifer in tow and gathered her belongings.

"Chloe."

Both turned at the voice, Chloe's eyes wide, Lucifer's narrowed. "You're back from the sting. Was it successful?"

Dan gave a short nod before looking at the taller man sitting on her desk with his long legs crossed at the ankles. "Surprised you're still here Lucifer, figured you'd be shot or arrested by now."

"Well I do love a little pain and bondage play," he grinned. "But my focuses are on something else at the moment."

"And what would that be?" Dan asked, crossing his arms and staring unamused at the man. Lucifer looked too coy and it put him on edge, what did he know that he didn't?

A sinister glint appeared in the Devil's eyes but whatever he was going to respond with was lost when Chloe stepped between them and ushered her ex away from her desk. "Make sure to call Trix tonight Dan, she missed you."

"Yeah of course," he instantly replied. "I was actually thinking I could stop by tonight, maybe we could all have dinner or something."

"Dan, if you want to see Trix tonight that's fine but I don't think dinner is a good idea," she said firmly.

He frowned, "Why not? I mean I know we're separated but you're still my wife and I just thought it'd be nice."

"I just think that we need to keep a clear line while this is happening," she argued.

"Fine. Fine. I'll stop by around seven so I can see Trix before bed," he conceded looking defeated. "I gotta ask, why are you still letting this guy stick around? He's going to get you killed."

She couldn't argue there. "He gives me a different perspective."

"Just promise me you won't sleep with the guy."

Chloe's jaw dropped at the audacity of him. Dropping her voice to a harsh whisper she jabbed him in the chest with her finger and ripped into him. "How dare you? You might as well just call me a whore Dan. I'm not sleeping with anybody, I'm not some sex crazed lunatic!"

"Like Lucifer?" He interrupted. "Look I'm sorry but the guy does something to women and I don't want you caught up in all that."

Everything in her wanted to shove her brand new maybe-kind-sorta relationship in his stupid face but she didn't. She glanced back at Lucifer who was now seated in her chair fiddling with a pen and watching them closely. "I'll worry about my life and you worry about yours. After all that's what you're good at," she added sharply before walking away. Once back at her desk she grabbed her keys and phone and looked at her partner, who was currently still focused on Dan. "We have a suspect to talk to, lets go."

Once seated in the car and driving down the road Lucifer asked the question he had been dying to since seeing Chloe's ex. "Why the douche?"

She looked confused, "Why the- Oh! Why did Dan and I get married?"

"Yes. I'm curious as to what drew you to him with his numbingly average looks and subpar intelligence."

He was jealous, she couldn't believe it and even though she wanted to laugh she swallowed it. "I'm not giving you anything to use against him. We're separated, we're not getting back together no matter how much he thinks he wants to, and that's that." Diverting the conversation away from her personal life she pushed the attention onto her passenger. "I'm thinking you've never been married and I can assume you'd never want to."

He looked horrified. "No, of course not. I don't see the point of limiting yourself to one person and then doing some sort of holy pinkie promise in front of an audience that honestly doesn't mean anything to you humans. My word is my bond yet you people lie to everyone in sight including yourselves."

"Can't argue there," she agreed. "Do you ever lie?"

"Never," he instantly replied with conviction. "I have never lied to you, and I will never lie to you."

Chloe pulled into a parking space and shifted the car to park behind an apartment building before stepping out and heading for the entrance. She had to admit, it was a lot better than the last apartment they had visited. After a quick climb up the stairs to the third floor and four doors to the right she knocked firmly and stepped to the side of the wooden object. "LAPD."

The sound of something breaking was enough to step back and kick in the door much to Lucifer's delight. Gun drawn she entered and hurriedly looked around, only getting a flash of an arm as the suspect clambered onto the fire escape. Rushing to the window she looked up and down and saw the man was already a floor below her. "Lucifer," she barked but when she turned around he was gone. "Of course he's gone," she growled in frustration and began following the man down the escape as quickly as she could.

Andy Fisher jumped the last six feet down onto the asphalt and looked up at the officer quickly gaining on him.

"Andy Fisher, LAPD. Stop!" she shouted loudly.

Not waiting around any longer the suspect turned and ran along the back of the building and was just about to round the corner when an arm appeared from seemingly nowhere and clotheslined him.

Chloe ran towards the man on the ground choking and groaning in pain, and looked up at Lucifer who looked quite pleased with himself.

"You're welcome."

"What'd I do?" Andy shouted hoarsely as he was handcuffed and shoved face first into the building. "I didn't do nothin'!"

"Aside from butchering the English language?" Lucifer scoffed.

"Why'd you run Andy? Feeling a little guilty about what you did to Gerald Smith?" Chloe asked firmly, still holding him to the wall and trying not to gag at the stench of sweat and alcohol rolling off the man.

"What? I ain't seen Smith since he got me fired," he cried in confusion.

"Then why did you run? Be straight with me, I know you're on parole for an assault charge and I'm sure you're P.O. would love to hear about you drinking and evading police."

The man sagged a bit, "I ran because- Look I didn't hurt Smith. He came to me a week ago all whacked out, said I needed to help him, I didn't even know what the hell he was talking about. Why what happened?"

"Seems our Gerry had a bit of a mishap with a knife, one of the permanent variety," Lucifer answered.

"Smith's dead?" the man asked before letting out a long groan. "I didn't kill 'im. If I was yous I'd look into that bitch of a sister he's got. Smith always acted out after her visits, there was something off about her. I think she shoulda been in Sunny Hill right along with 'im, I mean how did she not get all messed up along with him?"

"What do you mean 'with him'?" Lucifer asked curiously.

The man huffed a breath, "Exactly what I saids. They was both kidnapped."

Chloe looked to Lucifer, dropping her voice. "She never mentioned that and she didn't have a any sort of alibi. Looks like we need to pay Sophia another visit."

"Just one more thing then." Lucifer stepped forward and twisted the man around. "Alright you linguistically challenged brewery, tell me, what is it you desire?"

The man's eyes glazed over, falling under the hypnotic spell that Lucifer somehow managed to cast on everyone but instead of divulging his secrets he blinked rapidly and shook his head. Narrowing his eyes he asked in confusion and apprehension, "James?"

"He desires someone named James?" Chloe asked with a laugh.

"No," Andy argued glancing over before looking back at the man in front of him. "I mean I know I been drinkin' today but I swear it's you. Is it?"

Lucifer stepped back completely bewildered and yanked his sleeves taught at the cuff, pulling himself up to full height. "My name is Lucifer Morningstar and I can assure you we have never met," he finished, a simmer of anger entering his tone.

"You've never done him a favor or anything?" Chloe asked.

At this he laughed in disbelief. "A favor for someone like him? What could he possibly offer to me in return? I'm not doing these out of the goodness of my heart, I expect repayment at some point."

The man shook his head slowly, ignoring the conversation between the two. "It's like seein' a ghost man. You, you-"

"You're growing tiresome Andy," Lucifer spat, taking a step towards the suspect.

"Woah, woah, woah," Chloe called out, moving between them and lightly pushing Lucifer back. They were getting off track and her partner seemed to be getting more agitated with each passing minute. She drug Andy to the car and shoved him in the back, looking over to Lucifer who kept staring uneasily at the man in the back seat. It was strange to see him showing discomfort because of someone, he seemed to be the one usually causing it. "Ready to go?"

"The man's about to ferment, I'll pass."

"Come on."

"No!"

Great, Lucifer was turning into a man-child and she had a drunk parolee in the back seat, not to mention they were over twenty city blocks from the station. "Just get in the car, I'll roll down the windows and turn the air on high to protect your sensitive nose."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he growled and stalked to the car, sliding inside and crossing his arms looking every bit the petulant child.

The three were silent for most of the trip, Chloe driving, Lucifer trying to breathe, and the suspect trying not to vomit. When the Devil heard a gag he whipped around with fire in his eyes and hissed through the bars, "If you retch it'll be the last thing you do on this earth."

Andy startled and nodded with wide eyes before beginning to stare at him again. "You know I ain't no saint-"

"Oh really? I had no idea," he said dryly.

A humorless chuckle came from Andy. "Yeah. I guess it's just- Bein' in that place with the crazies, it's enough to drive you nuts but the one thing that kept me sane was this one guy. He didn't talk much, at all really, but he'd play this stupid song over and over every single damn day. It'd drive the staff nuts so he got put away a lot but I uh- I miss it sometimes."

Lucifer listened attentively, the anger leaving him. "That was," he began. "The most boring bloody story I've ever heard. What was the point in even sharing that?"

Relief flooded Chloe when they pulled into the station and she could finally get these two out of the car. As soon as she put it in park Lucifer jumped from the vehicle and shook his head, "Horrible, horrible stench. It's clinging to me now."

Knowing she wasn't going to get much done with Lucifer in a mood she met his eyes over the car. "Did you want to go and I'll let you know if anything comes up?"

"I thought you'd never ask." And with that, he was gone.

* * *

"Say bye to mommy Trix."

Chloe hugged her daughter tightly and smiled at her beautiful face, this child was her world. Standing up she looked at Dan and smiled politely, hating the awkwardness surrounding them but it was a necessary evil. "Be safe, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Dan returned her smile, though his looked a little more sincere, and ushered their daughter outside before pulling the door shut leaving the female detective alone.

"What to do, what to do," she said to herself. There was always Lux but she didn't feel like being around that many people tonight, and then of course Lucifer but even that sounded like a bit much tonight. Maybe a quiet night at home was exactly what she needed to reset and unwind from a very long day.

Pulling out a bottle of wine and a single glass she dropped onto the couch and flipped through the channels before settling on rerun of an old movie. It felt wonderful to be home and not having to speak to another person, or wear pants, or being judged on how much of the bottle she had already drank.

A beep signaled a text had been received and she snatched her phone off the end table to check it. It was from Dan, which made her pause, but all it was was a picture of Trixie smiling happily and eating a massive slice of chocolate cake. "Yeah, good luck getting her to sleep you idiot," she mumbled to herself and pressed the button to save it.

"Memory full?" She opened her pictures to see what she could get rid of, there were quite a few from crime scenes that had already been developed and printed so those were easily erased. The next set was from the Institution when she and Lucifer had gone and she had found all the files. Her thumb slid over each one, looking at each picture carefully for anything useful, not that she expected to find anything. Gerald Smith was in a couple and Andy Fisher showed up in all the staff pictures but it was the last one that caught her attention.

Frowning heavily she set down her glass of wine on the coffee table and pinched the screen to zoom in. Her heart began to pound, her eyes widening and hands shaking as she stared in disbelief at the photo.

There was a man in the background seated at a white piano in the corner of the rec room that she couldn't help but recognize. He was younger, and his hair was shorter but one thing was certain.

He was Lucifer.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! This chapter may seem out of character but that's kind of the point. Also a warning for a very small amount of graphic violence.

* * *

Chloe walked hastily through the station bumping into people and shouldering past, her mind not even registering this indignant cries and angry words. All she could focus on was her destination, her vision tunneling and blurring, heart pounding in her ears. Her breaths fell heavily from her lips, her throat constricting as it became difficult to breathe. Her entire body was shaking as she pushed open the door to the holding cells and shakily flashed her badge to gain access.

Her footsteps echoed on the concrete floor, the rhythm uneven and heavy. As soon as she reached what she was looking for she grabbed the bars tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Andy Fisher."

The man rolled over on his cot and frowned at how much of a mess the woman was in front of him compared to yesterday. "Yeah?" he asked wearily, not moving.

Moving her right hand from the bars she grabbed a folded piece of paper from her pocket and thrust it inside as far as she could, the item shaking in her grip. When the man didn't move she barked out, "Look at it." A moment later she desperately shouted, "Look at it!"

Andy carefully stood and plucked the paper from her hands wondering what this woman was doing and why she looked so strung out. After unfolding it he looked it over in confusion. "I don't understand."

Chloe's teeth were gritted, her nostrils flaring with each forceful breath. "Who is that? At the piano?"

He looked again at the paper, closer this time before meeting her eyes again. "It's James. The guy who looked like your partner."

Her head was starting to pound, sweat trickling down her spine. "I need more. Tell me about James."

"You think it's the same guy?" he asked in confusion before jumping back when Chloe slammed her palm against the bars before pointing again to the paper.

"Andy! Just tell me about James," she shouted again, a pleading note to her voice this time.

Andy quickly tried to think of what he could remember. "His name was James, like I saids. He was real quiet." Knowing the woman was going to most likely attack him soon he became flustered and began ticking off anything he could. "Played piano. What I told you twos in the car, that was James. Played same song all day every day. He was there before I got the job. Place burned down five years ago, I was fired by then. They never found 'is body. Thought he just burned up. I asked 'cause for some reason I liked the guy. I finally found the song one day. Took some time but I remember the name. Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 19b: No. 6 in G Minor. I was pretty proud when I found it. Proud I can even say it." He nervously shrugged. "I ain't got much more."

"A name," she whispered harshly. "I need a name."

Andy rubbed his hand over his forehead, "James R- It's right there I just can't think of it, started with an R."

Chloe nodded, snatched the paper back and hurriedly left the cells, almost running to evidence. Inside she quickly located the boxes she had stuck in the room from the Institution and pulled them from their shelf, slamming them down on the table in the center of the room and throwing the lids off. The boxes she had taken had been letters R and S by sheer luck meaning there had to be something. Her fingers burned with tiny cuts from the sharp edges of the hundreds of papers but she barely felt it. With a stifled gasp she lifted a paper out and stared at the bold print, slowly reading each and every letter across the top. She had to be sure, there couldn't be any doubt but with every word it became more of a certain. James Rhys, born October 2nd 1983 in Swansea, Wales, 6'3" tall, 172 lbs. There wasn't a picture but there didn't need to be, this was Lucifer. The real Lucifer, not the devil he portrayed to everyone but the very human man underneath.

Everything in her wanted to keep reading, his diagnosis, his medications, his treatment, his stay but she just couldn't do it. This was Lucifer and even though it looked scarily bleak she just couldn't betray him like this.

 _"I have never lied to you, and I will never lie to you."_

There had to be something she was missing, something that explained all of this because- because- if Lucifer was truly insane than that was it. She would lose him, her partner, her best friend, her- He had always been crazy, that much was obvious but being a weirdo was much different than being actually diagnosed and certifiably insane.

Suddenly apprehensive she looked around before folding the papers and sticking them in her pocket, afraid that someone might somehow realize what was happening. Placing the boxes back on the shelf she smiled tightly at the man outside evidence and barely held herself back from running to her car. Jumping in she began her drive to Lux but what she would say when she got there was yet to be decided. Should she call him out? Demand answers? Play dumb and see if he slips up? Or lure him into a confession.

She wanted to cry, wanted to kick and scream and just wake up. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he couldn't be the devil, none of that was real. She pulled up to the club and closed her eyes, focusing her energy inward to portray calm. This situation needed to be handled with a certain delicacy. Her eyes shot open, what if he attacked her? Could she really shoot Lucifer to protect herself? Could she kill him if need be? "No," she said to herself. "No, nothings going to happen. It's fine. This is Lucifer."

After one more breath she exited the car, checked her sidearm and opened the door.

The club was empty, long past closing and no one in sight except for the lone figure that was always here. He was seated casually at the piano, arms moving easily over the keys, his tailored shirt pulling slightly on his shoulders when he reached for certain notes. A small whisp of cigarette smoke was rising from the top of the instrument and the ever present glass of alcohol sat next to it. She approached slowly, making sure her feet didn't make a noise and stopped a safe distance away.

"If you're trying to sneak up on me it's in vain. You sound like a stampeding pachyderm," he smirked, twisting on the bench to greet her. "And why are you here so late? Did I miss something after leaving?"

Chloe cleared her throat shakily, "I went back and talked to Sophia, the sister. Once I pressed about the kidnapping she snapped. Turns out she just hid her illness better than her brother could and we found the murder weapon in her purse still covered in blood, most likely Gerald's."

"Why do you think she did it?"

She shrugged minutely. "I don't think we'll ever know but whatever happened when they were kids must have been pretty bad to scar them so badly." Sticking her hands in her pockets to hide the tremble, her fingertips brushed the folded papers. "Do you take requests?" she asked randomly.

He looked pleasantly surprised as he took a sip of his drink and placed his hands on the keys. "Only from certain blonde haired detectives. Hit me."

Trying not to arouse suspicion she walked forward but instead of taking a seat next to him she rounded the piano and stood on the other side. "Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 19b: No. 6 in G Minor."

His head cocked to the side in curiosity, "An oddly specific request, which I'll be asking about once finished, but alright." Positioning his hands to the correct keys he met Chloe's eyes and grinned happily before focusing on what he was doing.

Chloe saw Maze slowly descending down the stairs behind Lucifer and wondered how much she knew. She had to know, why else would she call herself a demon? Were they in on this together? The answers were going to come out tonight, regardless of the fallout.

Lucifer played the first few notes slowly, the piece obviously known by heart and Chloe watched him carefully for any sign of deceit but it wasn't coming. Maze however had froze before running down the stairs, desperately screaming, "Stop!" The music stopped instantly, the delicate notes buried under the tune of several wrong keys being hit, the terrible noise echoing in the large space.

"What did you do?" Maze shouted desperately, dashing over to Lucifer who was staring at the keys with a completely blank expression. It was like someone had flipped the switch, like he was just _off._

Maze halted just shy of touching him and looked at Chloe, for once not with anger but with a crushing helplessness. "Help me get him upstairs, please?"

This hadn't gone at all like she had thought. Lucifer seemed to be in a trance and Maze was using words like 'please'. Dumbly she nodded and helped Maze get him up and headed to the elevator. The ride up was silent and more than a little uncomfortable but the thing that was the worst was the fact that the man didn't even seem aware anyone else was with him. He stared blankly at the doors, no recognition or life shining from his eyes. As soon as the doors opened Maze and Chloe ushered him to the couch were he was softly pushed down into a seated position.

"Stay with him," Maze ordered quietly and ran over to the bar.

Chloe felt like a drink was the last thing he needed right now but was either unable or unwilling to break the frightening spell that blanketed the loft. She watched as the raven haired woman hurried back and placed the drink in his hand, tapping it a few times with her sharp nails before he finally drank it.

The effects were instantaneous as his eyes slipped shut and he slumped over on the couch, Maze lifting his legs and fixing his crooked neck. She finally turned and fully acknowledged Chloe. "We need to talk."

Situated in a chair across from Maze where she could still watch Lucifer the first question that came to Chloe's mind was, "What did you give him?"

"Hard liquor and sleeping pills," Maze replied easily. "It'd kill a normal person but he's got a liver of steel. Your next question would be, what happened? Am I right?"

Chloe nodded and pulled the papers from her pocket, opening and setting them down delicately on the table. "I need you to tell me about James."

Maze stiffened before smirking and leaning back in her chair. "Well you figured it out and broke him faster than I thought, I'm not sure if I should be impressed or livid." With a heavy sigh she looked over at Lucifer and smiled lovingly, keeping her eyes on the sleeping figure as she began to speak.

"Twenty-eight years ago a baby was born, a baby that the parents decided they didn't want. This baby went into foster care but no one looked twice and eventually this baby grew into a child. When the kid was four it was moved to it's fifth foster home, which seemed more promising than the others. It was at this home where the child met a friend," she finished quietly, her smile growing. "A boy names James, who was eight years old."

"So the baby was you," Chloe solidified. "I'm sorry but what does this have to do with Luci- James?"

Maze rolled her eyes, "Patience Decker. I have to tell the story from my perspective, because it's the only one that's left."

Something about that sentence made Chloe's stomach clench.

"James was the oldest of six boys born to the two worst people on the entire planet. They moved to California about six months before I got there. Now you need to understand something here, his parents were rich and when I say rich, I mean they could buy small countries. His dad owned some business overseas." She stopped and looked around the loft, "This is modest compared to what they had."

Lucifer shifted slightly on the couch but didn't wake, both women watching him closely.

"Every one of those kids and their parents were little shits, they loved to piss all over the poor people and they _hated_ us foster kids. Everyone and everything was beneath them, but not Jimmy. He took care of me just because he knew I needed taken care of, that I didn't have anyone else. He was family to me, was there every single time I needed someone. Everything I needed Jimmy bought, without me asking. He took care of everybody, making sure all his brothers were happy, I was happy, his parents, and this was in-between music lessons, school, religious studies, and everything else his dad made him do to raise an heir."

Chloe shook her head, "Where does all this fit in? What turned 'Jimmy' into 'Lucifer'?"

Maze stood and poured herself a drink before staying by the bar and watching the liquor slosh around the edge of her glass as the twirled it on the counter. "I never got adopted so we grew up together. He helped me with all my homework, beat the shit out of my homecoming date when he wouldn't take no for an answer, helped me learn to drive, bailed me out of jail after my first arrest. We got into so much trouble together, neither one of us was a good influence. His family had no idea how much crap he did and when we'd almost get caught he'd just laugh, he'd tell me 'the devil made me do it'. His laugh-" she broke off and looked up from the counter to Chloe with a watery smile. "Well you know."

"Yeah," she agreed gently.

"And while all of this was happening no one knew, none of his brothers, his friends, no one, that his mom treated him like scum and his dad beat the shit out of him. His dad said it was to build character. Bastard. That man was pure evil, the hate in his eyes-" Grinding her teeth she seemed to be barely controlling her bottled anger. "I only found out by accident and all he did was deflect."

It was silent for a few minutes, both women thinking about what had been said.

"As soon as Jimmy graduated he left for college, Stanford. He was always crazy smart. He wrote me and called all the time and even though he denied it forever I somehow was able to get a job and an apartment as soon as I turned eighteen, and oddly enough my rent was less than a tank of gas. It was the summer after his first degree when he finally came home, and then it happened."

As if sensing the tension filling the room Lucifer let out a small groan under his breath from the couch.

"Jimmy had never left before," Maze began, her voice low. "So his dad didn't have his punching bag anymore and with every year he seemed to get worse and worse. More than once I'd see his mom driving by with these huge sunglasses on, I wasn't stupid. I was supposed to meet him so we could go to dinner but he never showed so I went to check on him."

Unnoticed silent tears began rolling down her face, one by one, her voice hollow. "I knocked but there wasn't an answer so I just went in. They always had this white carpet, white like the snow and never a stain on it, but there were these tiny little drops of red on it this time. It was mesmerizing and I just kept following it through the house and the drops got bigger and bigger, and then I found them. The smell of all that blood-"

Maze shook her head and stared at Lucifer, her hands beginning to shake as her voice waivered. "His dad shot them, every single one. Lined them up on the wall and shot them execution style, blood and brains all over the walls. His mom was lying in the corner and then I heard it, the most terrible sound I had ever heard in my life. This terrible screaming, it was like listening to an animal dying. Just this raw-" Maze hadn't even noticed Chloe had moved until a hand landed on top of hers and squeezed.

"Jimmy's dad had him pinned down, and if it wasn't for all those years of beating him down he could have stopped him easily but he honestly believed he was as weak and worthless as they said he was. He was screaming himself hoarse, clawing at the carpet trying to get away while his dad literally flayed the skin off his back. So much blood, everywhere. He looked at me and even though he had to be in so much pain, he just had this expression on his face. This acceptance of what was happening. I don't know what happened next but his dad was coming after me and then he just wasn't. Jimmy put him in a choke hold and managed to break his neck, killed him. To protect me."

Chloe felt like she was going to be sick, this was something out of a horror movie, not a person's life, but she had seen how sick the world could be, had seen the true evil that lived in people. There would never be an explanation for why this man did what he did, no closure.

Maze hiccupped and hastily wiped off her face, laughing bitterly and beginning to pace. "So to answer your question _Decker_ , Jimmy was institutionalized for years because he suffered a complete psychotic break. He never recovered from the moment he hit the ground after saving me; hardly spoke, wouldn't eat, just sat at that fucking piano playing that same song over and over and over. I visited him every single week while he was in there and they had him so drugged he didn't even know I was there. This man, this amazing, smart, _good_ man was stuck and I couldn't watch it happen anymore. They wouldn't let me check him out so I burned down the whole wing of that stupid Happy Hills Hell and took him myself but something happened when he saw the fire. For a reason I guess we'll never know something in him snapped and Lucifer Morningstar was born."

Finishing her drink she turned her attention to Chloe. "He didn't just think he was Lucifer, he _became_ Lucifer. Everything you see in the man you know was there before, all that naughty, the drinking, the promiscuity, but now he doesn't have anything holding him back. Can you imagine how freeing it is to not feel fear, shame, regret?"

Pulling herself up straight she smirked, transforming back into Maze the demon. "I became what he needed me to be and I've been taking care of him ever since, because he took care of me. It took some doing but I managed to get all his money that was stuck in probate and trusts without much more than forged signatures. First thing he did is grab me and move here and I didn't question any of it because it didn't matter. Call me selfish but him being the Devil gave me the chance to have him back, and I took it."

Still needing to add one more thing she walked right up to the blonde and looked her dead in the eye. "He's like a child Chloe, the intelligence and sense of humor came through but everything else was gone. Common sense, life experiences, political correctness, gone. His mind is being held together with scotch tape and rubber bands. I've done everything in my power to keep him safe and happy, because that's what he did for me. That man raised me. So I guess now you need to ask yourself, can you accept him for what he is and not who he was?"

It was difficult to even try to process all this information, let alone make a decision. "I have Trixie, what if he, I don't know, snapped one day?"

"Jimmy never had a violent bone in his body, the only time he ever lashed out was to protect the people he loved. Lucifer's the same, with the added bonus of punishing bad people."

"I really messed up, didn't I?" Chloe asked brokenly.

Maze shrugged, and began to walk away. "He's been popped out once before and managed to get back to Lucifer. It's always that stupid song, it's like a reset button. Just act normal, reaffirm who he is and it'll maybe click. If not, then it's over. At least he got a few good years in, he deserved them."

"Wait, where are you going and how can you just let him go like that?" the blonde wondered aloud. "What if he comes back as James?"

"I've known this day would happen eventually so I made sure Lucifer and I enjoyed every minute we could. No regrets. I'll always be there to protect him but it's up to you to keep him happy now if this works out." She approached the elevator and turned after pressing the button. "Shouldn't be too hard since he's in love with you."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! So this is the last chapter, I could have carried on a bit but in my head this was always the end. This was pretty fun to write, a little different than my other stories and I thank every one of you for taking the time to read it. Also I know a lot of you have been asking questions but I really couldn't reply until the entire thing was posted to not spoil the ending. If I need to clarify anything let me know, sometimes everything in my head doesn't get on paper.

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Chloe sat in the chair across from Lucifer for hours, arms wrapped around a pillow from his bedroom and legs tucked underneath her as she continued to watch over him. He hadn't woken and didn't seem like he would anytime soon, simply laid there sleeping restlessly. Small whines left him every so often and his face filled with pain before relaxing again over and over and when he began to shiver Chloe had grabbed a blanket and thrown it over him. This man, this powerful and capable man was all a lie. The person in front of her was a boy, a child that had everything taken from him and had simply stopped. He looked small on the couch suddenly, his face young, and she let her eyes slid shut as tears began to gather.

 _"What did you do?"_

As a homicide detective she had seen her fair share of death, seen how it destroyed families and always left a victim. The children, the ones that witnessed death, they never seemed to recover and this man in front of her was the result of such. So much pain emotionally and physically. He had lost everyone in a single day, his past, present, and future stolen. Had laid there on the carpet while his father tortured him, already knowing his family was dead and only the love for a child had saved him. Maze had been eighteen years old, Lucifer only twenty-two. The man who loathed children had once upon a time taken one under his wing and raised her for fourteen years, had only saved himself when she was in danger.

" _He took care of everybody."_

Maze had said he was the same as he is now and she smiled to herself thinking of a young Lucifer causing mayhem, running around town getting into all sorts of trouble before buying his way out of it. She pictured him dressed as he did now, his appearance always impeccable but instead of a sex symbol a gangly boy that had grown too quickly. A child trying to live his life on his terms while still living in the shadow of his father, hiding the pain from every single person around him except one.

 _"If you care about him at all, if he is anything to you, you will never see him again."_

Maze wasn't hateful, wasn't mean spirited, she was a survivor just like Lucifer with a heart just as big. To repay the man who had raised her she had given up her life to care for him, to keep him safe from himself and others. The man across from her had no idea what he had done in his life, had no idea how special of a person he was. Everything that happened was gone and the only person that knew his story was forced to erase it. In a way her life had been washed away as well, everything she was and had been gone in the blink of an eye. The level of self-sacrifice between them was unfathomable. A life for a life.

" _I have never lied to you, and I will never lie to you."_

He never had. Having no idea about anything before five years ago he had told her the only truth he knew. When his mind picked his persona for him, the biggest symbol of irony, it had filled in the gaps needed for him to accept it. The wounds on his back became the scars from where his wings were cut; his dead family became the angels that had shunned him, his abusive father had become the God who damned his first son, and Maze had become the Devil's right hand, his demon. It was only by sheer luck that he hadn't been shot during their first case together, the record producer's gun jamming after she had been shot and Maze seemed to be the one that had stalled the old west shootout between Nick and Josh before Chloe was able to arrive. On the upside though everything that he had to hide before, all his transgressions and vices, his love for chaos, was now worn with pride, a badge of honor. Lux was the stage and Lucifer was the star, not shying from anything, giving in to every temptation and embracing every bad habit.

 _"You're going to destroy him no matter what but at least give him a smile on the way down."_

With everything laid out before her only one question remained, could she ignore everything she had learned and continue in the life of the man she knew? Act as if nothing had changed, treat him no differently, not watch his every move and worry about him causing harm to himself or others. The question was really only valid if he woke up as Lucifer.

" _He_ _likes_ _you and I'm telling you this right now, this will end badly."_

The thought almost brought her to her knees. If James awoke Lucifer could be gone, forever. The man she was falling for, the one who had wormed his way into every part of her life would disappear and in his place would be a stranger. No longer would she have him standing at her right side making inappropriate jokes, saving her life from deranged criminals, sharing drinks behind the keyboard of the piano. He would have no idea who she even was. His mind would fill with twenty-seven years of memories, of pain and heartbreak, and every crack that had been filled would empty. He would return to the damaged child he was.

 _"He's standing at the edge of the rabbit hole and you need to decide if you're going to push him, or jump down with him."_

This could be the last time she ever saw him. The last time she could act like nothing had happened, like she had left well enough alone. With that thought she shakily stood and walked over to the large couch, lifting the blanket and sliding in next to him, face to face, before pulling it back over them. With tears in her eyes she lifted her hand and allowed the pads of her fingers to run over his cheeks, her eyes taking in every freckle, every lash and committing them all to memory. She sucked in a breath and reveled in his scent, the allure of a bad boy with a pinch of expensive cologne. One by one her tears began to fall, each one trailing down her face before being chased by another. Smashing her hand over her mouth she tried to stifle the sobs escaping her, the soul shattering cries leaving her and when he subconsciously moved closer she only cried harder.

 _"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like you being by my side."_

Unaware of how much time had passed Chloe stayed under the blanket with him, not allowing herself to fall asleep and not daring to move away. A change in his breathing was the first sign he was waking and she smiled brokenly, pressing a feather light kiss to his lips and waiting for the worst. Minutes ticked by as he continued to wake, his limbs moving more and when he lifted his arms above his head to stretch out she steeled herself for what was about to happen.

 _"He didn't just think he was Lucifer, he_ _became_ _Lucifer."_

Dark eyes housed by even darker lashes slowly slid open, blinking a few times before they stayed open and traveled over the room in an achingly slow manner. Chloe stayed completely still and when they finally met hers they were blank. No hint of recognition, only confusion and emptiness. To see those beautiful eyes so dull was horrible, the windows to his soul showing how destroyed it really was.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm, she repeated to herself in her head and thanked the heavens when the elevator opened and Maze walked in.

Maze strode in and bee lined for the couch and as soon as she looked at him she knew. "Hey Jimmy," she said softly.

The man sat up a little and looked around, his face growing more and more fearful before he looked back to the dark haired woman. "Mazie?"

Maze watched Chloe subtly scoot away and looked back at the man staring at her like a life line. If the world was a perfect place she could have fixed Jimmy, gotten him therapy and given him a chance at recovery and having a normal life but the world wasn't perfect, it was dark and it was hard. She couldn't do this to him, couldn't allow him to suffer through his existence until finally succumbing to suicide or overdose because she sure as shit wasn't putting him back in an institution. "Do you trust me?" she whispered to him.

He looked at Chloe wearily and looked back to Maze, offering a single nod.

As soon as he replied Maze stood and after reeling back punched him as hard as she could in the back of the head, sending the man crumpling to the floor.

"Jesus Christ, why did you do that?" Chloe cried in shock and anger.

"I'm trying to fix him," she argued and pursed her lips when the blonde kept staring. "Don't look at me like that, it's all I could think of to prevent him from going full James. I'm hoping he'll wake up Lucifer."

Chloe dropped down to the floor and rolled him over, "He just woke up from you poisoning him with alcohol and sleeping pills and now you've given him a concussion. You're going to give him brain damage!"

The other woman threw her arms in exasperation, "It's already damaged Decker, that's the problem!"

This time he woke much more quickly and sat up with a start, wild eyes flickering over the space before landing on Chloe and Maze staring at him apprehensively. Maze took lead and smirked, hoping for the best. "About time you woke up, I thought you had gone back to Hell without me."

Both waited with bated breath to see what the reply was, watching as he lifted his hand and gingerly felt the back of his head. "Did someone deck me?"

Maze scoffed, "More like you finally found out you _can_ get drunk and fell over the couch after drinking half the bar."

He rose unsteadily and sat heavily on the couch, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. "Well whatever I did make sure I don't do it again," he groaned before sliding his attention to the other woman. "Last I remember you had done an impression of a bull in a china shop and then had the gall to act surprised by my ability to hear loud noises."

Maze let her eyes fall closed, thanking whoever was listening for allowing this to work and turned towards the elevator. She wasn't sure how many years he had left, especially getting into shootouts and testing his 'immortality' at every turn. The night she had to grab him out of the street for talking to nonexistent angels had scared the crap out of her but at least he was getting to actually experience life now. He was feeling things, creating new experiences, and it was all she had ever wanted for him. To live.

Chloe on the other hand let out an astonished laugh before walking to the couch, and dropping down next to him. He was ok. By some stroke of sheer luck she hadn't completely broken him to the point of no return. She watched as he lay back on the couch and closed his eyes, his hands holding his head in what had to be a terrible headache. "You ok?" she whispered.

Lucifer pried open his eyes, "Turns out I can get headaches too. Wonderful." He didn't close his eyes again and finally asked, "There's something wrong isn't there?"

She wanted to shake her head, deny it but she couldn't. There was so much wrong on so many different levels that she didn't even know where to start. "Just a really long night," she settled on, sniffling and trying to force down tears. This is what she was unsure about. Every action, every word, every look would be careful critiqued to see what was Lucifer and what was James.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he demanded. "Like I'm some fragile little breakable thing? It's only a headache."

"It just looks like you're in pain," she said slowly trying to appear as normal as possible while her mind raced. She needed to get out of here before she did something stupid.

"Yes, well I can think of one thing that would make me feel all better," he grinned, his eyes darkening.

Everything that had happened in the last twelve hours was gone from his mind, to him they were picking up where they had left off. She needed to make a decision, now. Could she do it or not? What it worth it? Was he worth it?

 _"He deserves more than that."_

Chloe turned to see him face to face, green eyes meeting black. The longer she stared the more she knew that everything that he used to be, long before her, was gone. His eyes held all his emotions; desire, excitement, joy but above all the naivety that could only come from someone truly sheltered from the world. It had always been there but she just couldn't place it before now because naïve isn't exactly a word you would use to describe Lucifer Morningstar.

Getting out of her head she realized that Lucifer was sitting still, allowing her to closely study him. "How do you do the mind thing, you know that makes people tell you things?"

His head tilted a bit and his eyes narrowed only slightly. "I've told you, it's a gift from God but since that answer doesn't seem to appease you," he sighed in irritation at her denial of who he was. "People _want_ to share their secrets, their deepest desires, their dirty little secrets with other people. I merely lend them an ear, a stranger willing to accept the burden of your darkest thoughts. It's all in the eyes, very few make eye contact anymore so when you do, and you don't break it, the world will bend to your will." He smirked, "Or it's just a gift."

Chloe mulled over his words and had to admit that everything he said did make sense, but it was almost like he really did have something not natural about him.

The Devil shifted a little and opened his eyes wide, "Go on, give it a go."

She smiled and huffed a laugh before focusing everything she had into their staring contest. A small tingle worked its way down her spine and she finally asked, "Tell me Lucifer? What do you want?"

His lips parted, eyes becoming hooded and Chloe couldn't believe she had actually done it.

"You. Writhing underneath me."

"You jerk," she laughed, easily falling into their regular routine. "See, it doesn't work. Only for you."

His arms wrapped around her and drug her petite form onto his lap and smirked, "I'd say it worked quite well, I never said my desires were deep hidden."

The man was a psychopath, and that was her opinion before she even found out about anything else. His crazy had just transformed into a different crazy and no matter what it would always be there. Leaning down she smiled against his lips and kissed him firmly.

She could do crazy.


End file.
